Jordan TaylorWith 13:21 left in Saturday’s big game, Wisconsin was down 15 points at home to top team in the country. The Badgers had scored 32 points in close to 27 minutes, and defensively had no answer for Jared Sullinger. Jordan Taylor then led a run left no doubt about the caliber of player he has become and the potential of the 2011 Wisconsin team. Over the next ten minutes, the Badgers outscored Ohio State 32-12. During that time, Taylor had 18 points on 6-6 shooting with 3 assists that led to another 8 points. His only missed shot during that time was a free throw, and in true Jordan Taylor form was turnover free over the span. Ever since Big Ten play started, Taylor has played at an All-American level. In conference play, he is now averaging 20.8 PPG (2nd in the league), 4.9 APG (5th in the league), and 4.5 RPG with incredible efficiency statistics. He is shooting 46 percent from the floor, 43 percent from 3, and 84 percent from the line to give him a true field goal percentage of 62.5 percent and an efficiency field goal percentage of 55.2 percent. Taylor led the Big Ten in assist-to-turnover ratio last season with a 2.8:1 mark, and this year is at an unbelievable 4.2:1 ratio.

While the loss takes perfection off the table for Ohio State, it does not alter their position as the top team in the Big Ten and clear #1 seed in the NCAA tournament. They are also still the favorites to win it, because they still have the most dominant big man in the country with shooters all around him. They simply got out-starred on Saturday when Taylor went on that run. The win for Wisconsin, however, highlights the point made in last week’s blog about his development being the catalyst behind this Badger team being capable of going deep in March. Taylor’s extremely productive and efficient scoring and playmaking has Wisconsin at the top of several impressive categories. The team is currently ranked as the most efficient offensive team in the country with Ken Pomeroy recording that on average they score 123.2 points per 100 possessions. Connected to that statistic is that there is also no team that is turning the ball over on fewer possessions than Wisconsin’s 13.6 percent. It cannot be understated how valuable a point guard is who can be so involved in the offense and simply not make mistakes. In many ways, the only thing separating the play of Jordan Taylor and Jimmer Fredette is the pace at which their teams play. The pace of play does matter to perception, because Fredette is now a national sensation (and frankly deservedly so) but Taylor did not even get named as a finalist for the Cousy Award. If nothing else, the win over Ohio State was a nationally televised announcement of how great he and Wisconsin can be.

We have a shake up at the top of the Power 16 following Ohio State’s first loss of the season. However, the new look at the top might not be what you anticipated. We reevaluated our thought process around the rankings and focused on body of work to determine a pecking order. You could clearly make an argument for any of the top four teams to be #1, but here’s how we see it…